Direction signal for automobiles



0. M. WEST DIRECTION SIGNAL FOR AUTOMOBILES May 22, 1923.

Filed June 29, 1922 INVENTOR j H mm A'r'TnnJvEY.

Patented May 22, 1923.

UNITED STATE OSCA'It M. wrist, or s'r. PAUL, MINNESOTA; 1

1,456,347 AT aNr 1 OFFICE. g

man-error: SIGNAL FOR AUTOMOBILES.

. Application filed June 29, 1922. .Serial 15,571,778.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OSCAR M. \Vnsr, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Direction Signals for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to direction signals for automobiles and its object is to further improve and simplify the invention described in my application for U. S. patent filed August 29, 1921, Serial Number 496,- 500, as will readily appear by comparing the said earlier presentation with the present one and its claim.

In the accompanying drawing;

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section of the front left hand corner of an automobile, showing where and how the hand operated parts of the device are mounted.

Fig. 2 is a partly sectional elevation of the adjacent side of Fig. l with the signal arm shown also in extended position in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-4 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 55 in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, 6 designates the left side front corner post of an automobile body, of which 7 is the front glass and 8 the side glass.

Upon the rear side of the post 6, or other suitable part of the vehicle is secured by bolts 9 a tubular bracket 10 in which is slidably placed a horizontal rod 11 having anoperating handle 12 within reach of the driver. I

Upon the front side of the post 6 is secured, preferably by the same bolts 9, a bracket 13 having a rectangular projection 14 to which are secured by rivets 15 two flat metal arms 16, one to the top and the other to the bottom of the projection. Said arms 16 have their outer ends arched apart and secured at 17 to segmental blocks 18 which form spacers between two cheek plates 19 secured at 20 to the spacers and forming a flat hollow frame into which the signal arm 21, being made on the lazy-tongs principle, is normally retracted and housed when idle.

The rearmost links 21 of the signal arm are provided with slots 22 making the links slidable on rivets 23 which aid in holding the plates 19 together; said rivets have spacing rings 24 between the plates and the links (see Fig. 4) and the overlapping ends of the links 21 are held by apivot 25 in the bifurcated end 26 of a cross-head 27 which is slidable in a sleeve 28. The latter may be soldered or spot welded at 9 in Fig. 4: to the frame plates 18 so as to form a portion of said frame, and is provided with slits 30 (see Figs. 2 and 5) for the links 21 to recede into when their tilting motion so requires during the extending of the si nal arm.

Soldered at 31 to the bracket 10 is one end of a helical spring or tube 32 extending through post 6 and having its other end secured at 33 in the sleeve 28 (see Fig. 5). Easily slidable in the tube 32 is a flexible wire shaft or rod 34 having at each end a head 35 or 36. Loosely embracing said shaft near the head 35 is a collar 37 partly threaded into the cross-head 27 (see Fig. 5) and a similar collar 38 (see Fig. 3) bears against head 36 and secures the rear end' of the shaft to the handle piece or rod 11.

The device may be in duplicate, one at each side of the vehicle, but as the signalling of intended change of direction of the vehicle is practically all done from the left side thereof a single device at one side will in most cases sufiice, and the present device is accordingly simplified and cheapened considerably below the one described in my said former application. Even the spring or springs 23 in the former invention are dispensed with and the whole operation made easier to perform.

In the present case, when the driver desires to turn the car to the right or left, he pulls at the handle 12 and thereby extends the signal arm 21 out from the vehicle to warn any one concerned that the signaling vehicle is about to change its direction of travel, and when the turning movement is made the driver simply pushes the handle 12 to normal position and the signal arm is thereby instantly retracted into the frame 19-20.

What I claim is:

In a device of the class described a vertically disposed fiat housing and means for securing the same to a stationary part of a vehicle near the driver thereof, a foldable and horizontally extensible signal arm of the lazy-tongs type normally contained in the housing, a sli'dable pushing and pulling handle mounted on the vehicle near the driver and a slidable, flexible operating rod or wire extended from the handle to the 5 nearest links of the signal arm for extending or retracting the arm, and a metallic tube embracing said rod to guide it and cause it to slide easily, said flexible rod having each end provided with a head, a collar loosely embracing the rod near said head and 10 threaded ne into the slidable handle, the

other into a sl-idable block pivoted to the said nearest links of the signal arm.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

OSCAR WEST. 

